GOP Shaking Off Defeat as It Looks to the Future With New Ideas

The move comes as influential Republicans are urging party members to shake off the disappointment of November’s defeat and look to a brighter future.

Leading the way is Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, seen as a top candidate for the 2016 White House nomination. In a stirring speech, Jindal told the RNC Winter Meeting in Charlotte, N.C., that the way forward should be based on the premise that Republicans are united in the belief that the federal government should be something that performs only necessary functions.

“(The Democrats) want to be in charge of the federal government so they can expand it while we say we want to be in charge so we can shrink it,” Jindal said.

“The problem with that debate is it’s focused entirely on our opponent’s terms and is a small, short-sighted debate,” he added.

Instead, Jindal proposes focusing on ways that the American economy — rather than the federal government — can grow.

“We must be the party of growth. We know government is out of control and America knows that too, but we just lost the election,” Jindal said.

“We must focus on economy growth in every community in the country — not just Washington, D.C.

“We’ve fallen into that trap that says government is based in Washington, D.C.”

Newly re-elected RNC chairman Rience Preibus also said it is time to stop looking back to what went wrong on Election Day. He said he is confident that the GOP will bounce back.